A BRIEF SURVEY OF TRAJECTORY, GUIDANCE, AND PROPULSION ASPECTS OF ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS

Abstract

Aspects of the problem of orbital rendezvous are reported from a survey of the open literature. The papers studied are discussed briefly, and some of the interesting results and data are compared. Most of the papers can be grouped into either of two classes: The first class tackles the problem from the point of view of impulsive Keplerian orbital transfers; the second class analyzes the terminal portion of the rendezvous maneuver, or more specifically, the selection of thrusting and guidance laws required to insure a soft contact between the maneuverable interceptor and the target satellite. The survey pointed out the need for a more general parametric study of the terminal phase of orbital rendezvous; in particular, optimal guidance laws.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0414106

Entities

People

  • H. B. Schechter

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ascent Trajectories
  • Circular Orbits
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Elliptical Orbits
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Guidance
  • Intercept Trajectories
  • Navigation
  • Orbits
  • Parking Orbits
  • Proportional Navigation
  • Rendezvous
  • Satellite Orbits
  • Terminal Guidance
  • Trajectories
  • Transfer Orbits

Readers

  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers